As is usually the case when the weekend dawns upon cryptocurrency markets, the situation looks very different. This past week hasn’t been too positive for either Bitcoin or the top altcoins, but the situation is slowly turning around. Most major currencies are noting small gains, with the Tezos price showing the rest how it’s done.

Tezos Price Rebounds Strongly

For a project riddled with as many problems as Tezos had to face, it is a small miracle the company is still in operation today. Most of the issues have now been finally settled, and the XTZ token can be traded, albeit in a limited fashion. This has also had a big impact on the Tezos price, especially after crashing hard despite setting an all-time high of $ 9.73. Read more...

The Russian crypto sector is expanding. The number of businesses operating mining facilities has increased this year, more Russians own cryptocurrency. Data confirming these trends has been presented by the country’s crypto and blockchain association, which also warned that delayed embrace of digital financial technology costs Russia a trillion rubles each year.

75,000 Businesses Mine Cryptocurrencies in Russia

The Russian Federation, a vast country rich in energy resources including cheap electricity, has what it takes to become a major crypto mining destination. Recently released statistics show that this modern sector of the economy is rapidly developing. Read more...

Over 70% of “global investors” responding to questions from major exchange Huobi believe the cryptocurrency market cap will expand by more than one third this year.

Investors, Experts: Altcoins To See Rebound

Part of findings in Huobi’s H1 market report, Global Blockchain Industry Overview and Prospects, published last month, those asked overwhelmingly favored a “substantial increase” in market value as the most likely outcome for the second half of 2018.

A further 18.6% expect a “slight increase” of between 10 and 30 percent, while those predicting flat performance or a “slump” number only around 10%.Read more...

This past April, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the Bitcoin futures markets offered by the two derivatives giants Cboe and CME Group and how contract volumes were steadily rising. This month, while BTC-spot prices slide to significant lows, both futures products from these two companies are still seeing increased demand for contracts.

Brian Kelly, the CEO of cryptocurrency trading firm BKCM, believes that investors are missing the bigger picture when it comes to Ripple. Speaking with CNBC, Kelly outlined the potential utility for both the Ripple Ledger and XRP.

Ripple’s Utility in the Payments Arena

The global payments industry is incredibly massive. Advances in cross-border payments and international banking systems have increased the total addressable market — with BKCM’s Brian Kelly claiming that the size of the internal payments market, alone, is $ 155 trillion. According to Kelly, it costs about $ 31 billion to move the entire $ 155 trillion strong market. Read more...

Ethereum’s long-awaited Casper update seems to be making strides as a newer version of the code has been released by the developers earlier this week. The price seems to have reacted, marking a slight increase.

At press time, ETH was trading for $ 761.86 which is roughly a 2% price increase over the past 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap. The slight price improvement could be attributed to the news that the first version of the planned Casper update was released on Tuesday, May 8th.

Fundstrat researchers, led by Tom Lee, say Bitcoin is all set up for a massive rally going into Consensus week. The Bitcoin price has dipped slightly to the $ 9,300 mark after nearly reaching the $ 10,000 mark. The cryptocurrency has been on a three-week high after struggling for the better part of 2018.

Historical Relationship Between Consensus and Bitcoin Price

The Fundstrat researchers are basing their prediction on the behavior of Bitcoin prices in the wake of previous Consensus conferences. In a note to clients of the firm, Lee stated that this year’s gathering would be larger than the one held last year. He also went on to say that whenever attendance at the conference increased significantly, Bitcoin prices rallied in the immediate aftermath. Read more...

Android crypto-miners have seen a staggering 4000% increase in the first three months of 2018. To put things in perspective, the total consumer detections have reached 16 million as of the end of March, according to a report issued by Malwarebytes.

It seems that last year’s cryptojacking sentiment is still running with full force, as consumer crypto-miners soar 4000% in just the first three months of 2018. Info Security cites Malwarebytes, pointing out the massive increase in Android crypto-miners.